A Match in the Dark
by RidetheRain
Summary: Ted meets his future wife in the dark.


Ted was a good student. He wasn't the first to get spells in class, but always figured them out in the end. He was okay at Potions and did not usually get bitten in Care of Magical Creatures. McGonagall like him because he did his homework, but Slughorn would never invite him to the Slug Club. Ted was that kind of student.

He was quite good at Runes though. That was his favorite class. At least it was until NEWT classes started. It all started when they found out that all Houses were having the class together since so few took Runes through NEWT level. There are quite a few sixteen year old toddlers in the class apparently and it took all of two minutes for wands to be drawn. Professor Laurenzoo was late to class which allowed Malfoy from Slytherin and Vance from Hufflepuff to destroy two desks and put out all the candles in the room throwing everyone into darkness. Ted fished around blindly for his wand, but it must have been deep in his school bag. He began dumping things out in the hopes of finding it quicker. A few students lit small beacons of light throughout the room, but most were using their wands for fighting or shielding. The noise was tremendous - everyone was shouting their political opinions. Vance claimed Malfoy was a terrorist and it only went downhill from there. Everyone took sides.

Ted found his wand and flicked it so that a light like a little match in the darkness appeared. Then he turned to see if anyone was hurt. A spell shot across the room directly at him. He flipped his desk and dowsed his wand to keep from becoming a target again, blinking the memory of the soft glow his wand made out of his eyes. A heavy thud and splash hit the desk against his back. He shuffled one desk closer to the wall and tried to think of a spell that could call for help. Most students had switched to spells that didn't have visual cues which sent the already dark room into a suffocating blackness.

"Can you help me?" A soft voice whispered from the corner nearest him and Ted crawled where he remembered seeing a mass of dark school robes during his brief flash of light.

"I don't want to light my wand again." He said shortly, keeping his voice low.

"I just need some help with my wand hand. Do you know a healing charm?"

"Can you tell how deep it is? I can use Episkey if it's shallow" Ted reached outward and bumped the hand she reached out. She let out a gasp at the jarring.

"Better make it Carconsuo. I think it's pretty deep." Her voice sounded small, but not scared. He found himself admiring the brave girl. If the wound required the most powerful healing spell taught to students then it must be pretty bad.

Ted carefully grasped her hand and lightly moved his wand over where he had found the wound quietly incanting the spell. She flinched a little in his grip, but he didn't let go until the telltale spark at the end of the wound told him that the spell had finished and worked correctly.

"What on earth?!"

Professor Laurenzoo had arrived. Suddenly Ted felt himself moving. An invisible force pulled him quickly by his neck until he bumped into a few bodies. A moment later and lights appeared all over the classroom.

It was jarring in a way his wand had not been moments ago. The classroom was a disaster with desks everywhere and some students were soaking wet. The fight had only lasted a few moments, but it was enough. The students were arranged by house in the four corners of the room. Except for Longbottom who was just standing up in the middle of the room. He didn't have on his Gryffindor tie. The professor glanced around the room and shot healing spells here and there. When he was done looking over the students he walked to the front of the room to face the class. Everyone was frozen.

"Clean this up. Immediately."

Ted moved forward and swept his wand toward where his things lay. The desk righted itself and his things made their way back into his book bag. Luckily they were spared the water. He shot a quick reparo at the tapestry nearest him and sat at his desk. He tapped his foot on the ground while he waited for his classmates to do the same. He paused a moment. Tapped his wand to the wet puddle he just tapped his foot into and began tapping his foot again. A giggle sounded from somewhere behind him. Apparently, someone had seen that.

"I will discuss your punishment with the Headmaster later. For now, get into your assigned pairs." Laurenzoo tapped his wand on the board creating a list of pairs. Then sat at his desk with a small piece of parchment.

Ted hurried through the list and saw his name next to "A. Black" He cast his eye around the room before it landed on the Black girl he vaguely recognized. He made his way to her and sat quietly in a desk nearby.

"What do you think they're going to do to us, eh Black?" He asked idely.

There was a small intake of breath at the statement and Ted turn to see Black smile at him. She shone like a match struck in darkness. Like his wand for that brief flash. Her mass of dark curling hair tumbled around her face giving it a wild sultry look.

"Call me Dromeda." She said, still smiling. Blood pounded in his ears; Ted recognized her voice as the one he so recently helped in the dark. He faintly heard the professor sending his slip of parchment through the floo to the Headmaster's office.

"Dromeda" he repeated dumbly.

She smiled again like a match struck in darkness.


End file.
